A real estate developer has swindled buyers out of about Tk 15 crore by selling one flat to several clients, a group of victims alleged at a press conference yesterday.
Sumona Landmark, the developer company, resorted to fraudulence to misappropriate the hard-earned money of the buyers, said Shaeen Parveen, a victim.
The buyers have been paying big amount of money for apartment houses since 2007 at seven apartment projects, she said, but Rubayat Islam Monti, owner of the company, resorted to various fraudulent tricks to sell one apartment to many.
The company sold three apartments at Swapno Neer project in Uttara to 16 people, Md Shamsul Hoque Chowdhury, one of the victims, told the conference at Jatiya Press Club.
Sumona Landmark used to be a sister concern of Sumona Group but recently it has changed its registration and named itself as Sumona Landmark and Technologies Ltd, said Kaisor Ahmed, another victim.
Rubayat is the son of Sumona Group managing director Dr Sirajul Islam, he said.
Though they have paid Tk 25 to 50 lakh each so far to buy apartment, construction work is presently stalled at all the projects, while Rubayat is missing, he said. "We have so far gathered a total of 51 deceived buyers", he added.
The apartment projects in which buyers have been deceived include Sumona Swapno Neer, Sumona Rose Vila and Sumona Affection in Uttara, Sumona Radisson in west Dhanmondi, Sumona Sun Cloud in Mohammadpur, and Sumona Orchid Dale and Sumona Alpona Castle in Adabor, Ahmed said.
Contacted at the head office of Sumona Group at Sumona Goni Trade Centre, office staff said Sirajul Islam was not available and asked this correspondent to talk to the company's director Zahir Ahmed.
Zahir Ahmed did not take phone calls of the correspondent.
